Where We Found Ethan Hawke, Harvey Weinstein, and Jessica Alba Last Night

He also praised the youth vote: "In 1972, we lowered the voting age to 18, but we never saw the tremendous turnout of young people that we saw today. And they have sent a message to all of us, because they voted, even in these difficult economic times, the young people of America voted for hope. They did not vote out of fear, they voted out of hope. They did not vote against Senator McCain, they voted FOR Senator Obama. They weren't scared, they weren't manipulated, they were not misunderstood, they were saying, this is the America that we are going to have."

At the end of his speech—he revealed the "breaking news" that New York's state senate will have a Democratic majority—the ballroom broke into boos. Not for the Paterson, but for a different governor; Sarah Palin's tears gleamed on the jumbo screens around the room as McCain gave his concession speech. Patterson made the boiler plate "Palin comparison" pun and got a few generous laughs from the jubilant crowd. Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York," started piping through the loud speakers and suddenly, the whole crowd was singing and swaying together to the ballad, a moment broken seconds later when the DJ transitioned into "We Will Rock You."

At my final stop, the young Obamans after party at the nightclub Mansion in industrial Chelsea, crowds of hipster twentysomethings huddled together to watch Obama's victory speech. After every "Yes We Can," the room echoed with the same three words. Several people testified or yelled "hallelujah." The girls on either side of me were bawling inconsolably. Three feet away, two couples began to kiss, and a few more pairs joined in. The whole room began to feel boozy and emotional, like New Year's or the senior prom. I made a secret wish that the blonde had found what, or who, she was looking for tonight.

Additional reporting by Debbie Fink.